Christina Le Beau and her husband have embraced whole foods and vegetarian eating habits for years.

The issue of healthy eating became even more important to them when their daughter was born — and continues as Tessa, now 9, makes more of her own food decisions and eats lunch at school.

"As Tess got older and we started talking to other parents, we saw that the food culture directed toward children was insulting and treated them as though they had very limited palates," Le Beau says. "We saw the importance of raising food-literate children."

As often as she can, Le Beau posts photos of her daughter's school lunches with tips and information on how to prepare them.

"In the beginning readers always asked about time," says Le Beau about the lunches. "It doesn't take as long as people fear, and even if it did, it's worth it. Kids' nutrition is so neglected on a societal level."

Le Beau is a big fan of a Bento-style lunch.

"Bento doesn't have to mean fancy, innovative or cute," she says. "It appeals to me because it is easy to pack, gives all the foods equal billing, is less wasteful, and allows for a lot of variety and visual appeal."

Flossie Hall likewise shares tips on healthy school lunches with other parents.

Hall has changed the way her family eats. Seven years ago, the foods she sent to school with her oldest child in his lunch bag reflected how a large portion of America eats: processed and fast.

"We used to live on Little Debbies, Hot Pockets and Hamburger Helper," says Hall, who is from Brockport but currently living with extended family and four children in Michigan while her husband is deployed for a year in Afghanistan. "One day I woke up and realized how unhealthy we were eating. I knew we had to change."

Slowly, the Hall family began altering the way they ate. She is now 100 pounds lighter, and packs healthy, creative, school lunches.

Her biggest tip on school lunches? As with other meals, prep ahead, she says.

"I take two or three hours on Sunday nights and do a lot of prep work for the week of lunches ahead, like cutting and dicing vegetables and cooking chicken and hard-boiled eggs," she says. "It saves so much time and stress during the week."

Wash the chickpeas. Soak overnight. (Or use quick-soak method: Place beans in a pot of boiling water to cover and cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let soak, covered, for 1 to 2 hours. Drain. This is equivalent to as much as 10 to 12 hours soaking time.)

In a large saucepan, combine the soaked chickpeas and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until soft. Add 3 teaspoons of the salt and cook for 20 to 30 minutes more. Drain and reserve the cooking water. Let the chickpeas cool.

In a food processor or by hand with a potato masher, combine the cooled chickpeas, 1 cup of the cooking water, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the rest of the ingredients. Blend or mash until smoothness you want.

Make it fun. Hall will sometimes send a homemade pizza "Lunchable" with a soft tortilla, lightly grilled with olive oil, with small amounts of shredded cheese, sauce and toppings. Le Beau's "Lunchable" idea is ingredients for a do-it-yourself parfait (yogurt, granola, fruit and other toppings).

Packaging is key. Hall is a fan of the multi-purpose mini cups with lids from Wegmans. Le Beau prefers Bento-type metal boxes.

Be creative. Hall will sometimes cut her sandwich thins into fun shapes, but not all the time. The creativity, both Hall and Le Beau say, comes in the variety of foods (and their colors) and their textures and thinking beyond traditional lunch food.

Lunchbox idea

Joanna Alberti, owner of philoSophie's in Spencerport, designs lunchboxes customizable down to the name and the look of the girl or boy on the front — and has a chalkboard on the inside of the lid. Instead of writing napkin notes or notes on sticky notes, you can write little messages or draw pictures for your child on the chalkboard. Love, love, love this idea! The lunch box is $34.95.